Month: November 2017

If the US government is going to continue to try and stop online gambling, it may have a much more difficult task starting next year. Juniper Research claims that state lotteries will have mobile apps by next year, and that in the future, mobile gaming will near $50 billion in the US.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was supposed to curtail online betting habits of US residents, but technology is moving quicker than the law. Mobile devices have been advancing at such a rapid pace, that almost any activity that can be done online can be also done on a mobile device, including gambling.

Windsor Holden was th leading analyst on the mobile device gambling study conducted by Juniper Research. Holden believes that while the UK, Japan, and China already have gamblers placing bets from mobile devices, it is the US that will see some of the biggest growth in the coming years. Holden estimates that by 2015, $50 billion will be wagered from mobile devices in the US.

The major online gaming companies have already started developing applications for Apple mobile devices and Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, and Betfair are leading the way into a new era in gambling, one that will make the entertainment form even more popular than it has become in recent years.

“The successful service providers are those who don’t simply seek to replicate the desktop experience and instead offer something that plays to the strength of the mobile,” said Holden. “For example, it’s becoming increasingly clear that consumers that gamble on the mobile do so in a completely different way to desktop gamblers, usually when they’re engaged in another activity, such as watching TV or with friends down at the pub.”

The most interesting part of the study comes from state lottery involvement with mobile devices. Holden believes that since lotteries already exist and are legal, as well as exempt from the UIGEA, that mobile device gambling on the lottery is the natural progression for state lotteries. Holden claims that several lottery providers are in negotiations with mobile lottery platforms and that they will be seen in some states by next year.…